Theo on the AI Bubble and the Value Beneath It

Theo thinks AI is in a bubble, but says its underlying value remains an open question. He contrasts NFTs with the internet and its dot-com bust.

ThTheoSpeaker
Channel
Theo - t3․gg
Published
Jul 3, 2026
Video
0:28
Read
1 min
Original
English
Open on YouTube
Scroll to read and the video shrinks to the bottom-right corner. Captions follow your reading language.
Reading languageAvailable in 2 languages
You're reading the original English.
SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

Theo says there is an AI bubble, but he does not yet know how much lasting value lies beneath the hype. He places NFTs and the internet at opposite ends of a spectrum and argues that the dot-com bubble burst even though the internet itself was valuable.

  1. 1An AI bubbleTheo says plainly that he believes there is an AI bubble.
  2. 2Underlying value is uncertainThe open question for him is how large the technology's actual underlying value will be.
  3. 3NFTs and the internetHe puts NFTs and the internet at opposite ends of a spectrum, noting that a dot-com bubble burst even though the internet itself had value.

Takeaways

  1. Theo believes AI is currently in a bubble.
  2. He says the size of AI's underlying value is still unknown.
  3. In his comparison, the dot-com bubble burst without making the internet itself a bubble.
FULL TEXT

Read the edited text by chapter

Transcript only
01

A bubble with an unknown underlying value

Theo says AI is in a bubble but does not know where its underlying value falls between NFTs and the internet. He distinguishes the dot-com bubble from the value of the internet itself.

Do I think we're in an AI bubble? Yes, we are, and I won't pretend otherwise. The issue is that we don't yet know how big the actual underlying value is.

At one end of the spectrum there are things like NFTs; at the far other end there's the internet itself. The internet still had a bubble burst, which I associate with a smaller part of it: domains and reselling URLs as though they were immensely valuable. The dot-com bubble was real, but the internet was not a bubble. I don't know yet where AI falls on that spectrum.

More from this channel

5 slides38:47EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 28, 2026Theo’s Long-Running Agent Experiments: Verification, Compute and CostTheo Browne · Ping LabsA skateboard game and two compiler projects show how repeated checks and flexible compute can sustain agent work—and how expensive those loops can become.Coding agentsAgent engineeringAI cost & performance+2
5 slides36:07EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 27, 2026Theo on Token Costs, Coding Agents, and the Price of AI CapabilityTheo Browne · Ping LabsA viral estimate of Lauren's AI spending prompts a closer look at cache pricing, benchmarks, and the changing work of coding agents.AI cost & performanceCoding agentsInference+1
5 slides30:37EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 26, 2026Theo’s Three Skills for Reviewing and Shipping with Coding AgentsTheo Browne · Ping LabsHow sol-loop, full-send and full-stop encode review, verification and different levels of merge authority.Agent skillsCoding agentsCode review & verification+2
2 slides0:43EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 23, 2026Theo Distinguishes Security Vulnerabilities from Active AttacksTheo Browne · Ping LabsA short explanation of why disclosed software flaws and reported attacks are different kinds of security news.CybersecuritySoftware engineering
6 slides29:22EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 22, 2026Theo on Security Vulnerabilities, Stolen API Keys and AITheo Browne · Ping LabsA look at the gap between vulnerability disclosure and patching, and a speculative account of why stolen inference keys may be valuable.CybersecurityAI securitySoftware engineering+1
4 slides31:13EN
Theo - t3․gg· Oct 20, 2026Theo on Why Smarter Models Help More Than DevelopersTheo Browne · Ping LabsFrom game modifications to compiler experiments, Theo revisits his assumptions about who benefits from more capable AI.Coding agentsDeveloper productivityHuman-AI Collaboration+1